Stoke fabricator Listers has backed up its 2022 pledge to give every employee a £1,000 ‘Cost-of-Living Allowance’ in the year by announcing the initiative is to be made permanent as well as promising to raise the wage of hourly-paid colleagues to the £10.90 voluntary Real Living Wage in May.
The news comes soon after the company posted a record month with November sales topping £4million achieved partly because workers had ‘stepped up to the plate’, according to MD Roy Frost.
“This pay rise is in part a recognition of that dedication,” he said, “But we also understand that inflation and soaring energy costs have affected all household budgets this last year, and we want to do everything we can to make sure all our colleagues are prepared for rising bills.”
He added that the company does not expect to pass the cost to customers with corresponding price increases.
The company first made the pledge last year as the cost-of-living crisis was beginning to bite Listers puts £1k into every worker’s pocket to tackle cost of living and retain staff | The Glazine (the-glazine.com) but is now offering the payment on a permanent basis.
Roy concluded: “On the one hand, we want to protect our colleagues from rising prices, but we also want to guarantee that product quality and service levels remain high, and the best way to do that is to attract and retain the best people,”
“It’s no secret that we have been experiencing a skills crisis in the window and door industry, and the news that the UK’s overall workforce is shrinking means we all have to work harder to develop the best products, which create new opportunities for our customers.”
